Flood victims of Hemmettalu village demand houses

Villagers of Hemmettalu, affected by floods, have alleged that they have been left out from the list of houseless victims and urged the district administration to provide them with rehabilitation facilities.

Submitting a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy on Friday, the villagers, led by JD(S) district President K M Ganesh said that the government has not provided houses for the residents of Hemmettalu village in Makkanduru gram panchayat limits, who have been hit by floods during 2018. Several names have been omitted from the list of homeless families, all of a sudden,
they alleged.

The villages meanwhile accused the officials of not providing necessary guidance to the flood-affected. If the flood victims select the sites for construction of houses, the officials deny them, stating that the land is not safe.
“The government itself should earmark the sites. The district administration should issue a certificate to the identified sites”, Makkandur Gram Panchayat former Vice President Sandesh said.

JD(S) district President K M Ganesh said that the villagers of Hemmettalu are at crossroads and houses have not yet been allotted to them. The district administration had provided rent allowance to the flood-affected for three months, while the flood victims were staying in the relief centre. But, now, their names have been removed from the list of flood-affected, he pointed out.

Receiving the memorandum, Deputy Commissioner Annies Kanmani Joy assured to look into the issue. 

JD(S) district committee General Secretary Leela Sheshamma and women’s cell President Shanti Acchappa were present.

‘Dismiss the official’

Zilla Panchayat engineer
Srikanthaiah should be dismissed for allegedly misappropriating the flood relief funds, by depositing Rs 21 crore in a private bank, urged JD(S) district President
K M Ganesh.

He meanwhile demanded a high-level inquiry into the case.

Ganesh said that the official has been facing allegations of misuse of funds in several other development works carried out by him. “Suspending the official will not be sufficient. He should be dismissed,”, the JD(S) leader
said.